Episode 8: Mutually Assured Destruction

Created by Joe Weisberg, The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington DC shortly after Ronald Reagan is elected... More

Created by Joe Weisberg, The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington DC shortly after Ronald Reagan is elected President. The arranged marriage of Phillip (Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Russell), who have two children who know nothing about their parents true identity, grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but is constantly tested by the escalation of the Cold War and the intimate, dangerous and darkly funny relationships they must maintain with a network of spies and informants under their control. Complicating their relationship further is Phillip’s growing sense of affinity for America’s values and way of life. Tensions also heighten upon the arrival of a new neighbor, Stan (Emmerich), an FBI agent working in counter intelligence.

Articles

This literally explosive eighth installment (because bombs) saw the KGB tasking the Jennings with neutralizing its own hard-to-find hired killer, and Phillip attempting to apologize his way out of the More »

“If you start to think of your marriage as real, you’re of no use to us.”
Claudia, a.k.a. Granny, says that to her distrustful KGB agent Elizabeth Jennings in an early scene in “Mutually Assured De More »

The title for The Americans really said it all this week, didn’t it? There is a secret war going on that no one wants to become full-fledged combat, regarding both the U.S. and the Jennings’ marriage. More »

On tonight’s episode of “The Americans,” they met the enemy and he was…them? Yep, in “Mutually Assured Destruction,” Liz and Phil got the plum assignment of hunting one of their own, when the higher-u More »

Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 1, Episode 8 of "The Americans," titled "Mutually Assured Destruction."
The Jennings almost save the day again while tracking down a hit-man t More »

The Americans eighth episode is another savage opera of assassins, adultery and explosions. There's only one thing fiercer than its spy versus spy shenanigans: the modern job market. Even though it's More »

After a string of increasingly intense episodes, " Mutually Assured Destruction " was rather subdued. While it was enjoyable, it didn't hold my attention as much as previous hours of The Americans . T More »

The Jenningses have been trying to break out of the rut in their marriage by trying to make it real. But any progress Philip and Elizabeth make as a couple is always upended by their jobs as KGB agent More »